C.A. Milson's Blog, page 205

Book Tour – That Which Maddens and Torments

Title: That Which Maddens and Torments

Author: Christopher Keating

Publisher: Christopher Keating

Pages: 274

Genre: Suspense/Thriller

With the encouragement of her uncle, a retired professor of geophysics, Josephine Black, a recent college graduate, begins reporting on the issue of climate change for a major New York City newspaper. She quickly discovers that she has a passion for the subject and a talent for investigative journalism.

It’s not long before Jo’s hard-hitting articles are being noticed. However, leaders within the powerful fossil fuel industry don’t like what they are reading. They believe that the information in Jo’s articles could threaten their profits eventually, and they are also concerned that Jo will uncover a scientific report written by a friend of her uncle’s that proves the truth about global warming. The industry’s leaders are ruthless and are willing to stop at nothing to silence Jo and protect their profits.

Soon, Jo finds herself caught up in a very dangerous high stakes “cat and mouse game” related to the climate change debate. A game that combines politics and policy brokering at the highest levels of government with criminality. However, Jo is determined to outwit her ruthless enemies no matter what it takes.

Full of twists and turns, That Which Maddens and Torments is an entertaining, page-turning read. However, it also provides readers with insights into the debate surrounding the issue of global warming and helps to explain the motivation behind many of the global warming skeptics or deniers we read about or see on TV.

For More Information

That Which Maddens and Torments is available at Amazon.
Pick up your copy at Barnes & Noble.
Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.

Book Excerpt:

Introduction

They hadn’t hurt him. In fact, they had treated him quite well. That didn’t really change things, though. They were waiting for him in the apartment when he arrived and forced him to sit at the table. One of them sat with him while the other searched the apartment.

“Are you comfortable, Dr. Chriswald? Can I get you something to drink? Maybe something to eat?”

The old man shook his head.

“Why are you still in my apartment? I answered all of your questions. I don’t know anything about this report you keep asking me about.”

“Please, professor. Don’t lie to me. We know that you had the report. Just give it to us or tell us where we can find it and we’ll leave. No one is going to hurt you, but I must know where to find that report. You’re an old man and it wouldn’t take me long to force it out of you, but I don’t want to do that. Tell me what I want to know and we’ll be on our way.”

He was an intimidating figure. He wasn’t large or muscular, but there was a look about him that made you think this was someone to avoid, someone that would make you cross the street so you didn’t have to walk by him.

He was sitting at the table with professor when his accomplice came in.

“I can’t find anything. It’s not here.”

The professor’s questioner looked at him and said, “We’re going to have to do this the hard way. You are not going to like this. But, don’t worry; you’ll give in quickly enough.”

He was surprised at how fast the old professor could move and was caught off guard. Before he could do anything Chriswald jumped up from his chair was racing across the room – not towards the locked door, but to the window behind him. Without uttering a sound he went head first through the window.

The second man started to run after him before the first man stopped him.

“No! Someone might see you. Its five stories to the sidewalk. He’s done.”

“Oh, man! This place is going to be crawling with people. We need to get out of here.”

Seth Kern agreed. He could already hear the screams outside.

“Did you leave any evidence?”

“No. I was careful.”

Kern calmly nodded his head, “Good. Did he have some kind of list of contacts? He knew he would be forced to talk and he was willing to die instead. That means he had some secret he didn’t want to tell us. My guess is he did something with the report. He might have sent it to someone he knows for safe keeping.”

“Yeah, I saw an address book. I’ll get it.”

They took the address book and quickly let themselves out, leaving the building before anyone had a chance to see them. The clamor out front helped cover their escape. People were looking to see what the fuss was all about and weren’t in the hallway.

Once clear of the building Conrad Holiday asked, “Did you mean it? Were you going to just let him go?”

“Sure. I wasn’t paid to kill him, just to recover the report, and a dead body always results in an investigation. Besides, what was he going to do? Tell people about the report? Even if he did talk, people would have ignored him. It would have been just another crazy conspiracy theory with no proof or evidence. No, he wasn’t a threat to us.”

He wasn’t concerned about the dead professor. They had been careful breaking in and had made sure to not leave any evidence of their presence as they searched the apartment. He had no idea what kind of explanation the police would come up with, but he was sure it wouldn’t involve the two of them.

He was more concerned with what to tell his client. The professor was dead and the only lead they had was an address book. But, he had been in bad situations before and he would explain it somehow. Besides, he knew his client wanted that report too badly. He would let some things slide, as long as Kern was making progress.

“I wonder. If he had the report, why didn’t he take it to the press?”

Holiday shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe he was trying some blackmail?”

Kern shook his head. “I haven’t heard anything like that. Besides, the people involved would have just paid and moved on. It would be pocket change to them. No, I have a feeling there is more to this than we know about.”

With a sigh he pulled out the address book and began looking through it.

“Hopefully, one of these people knows something,” he thought.

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About the Author

Chris Keating had his first story published when he was just seven years old and in second grade. He has been writing both fiction and nonfiction ever since.

He wrote his first book, Dialogues on 2012: Why the World Will Not End, while he was a professor of physics at the U.S Naval Academy. He was inspired to write it because of continually being questioned on all walks of life about the myth the world was going to end on December 21, 2012 according to the Mayan calendar.

After the world didn’t end, Chris decided to tackle the controversial topic of climate change by writing Undeniable! Dialogues on Global Warming, which was published in 2014. He also began the online Global Warming Skeptic Challenge, offering $10,000 to the first person who could prove the fallacy of global warming. His challenge quickly went viral and Chris spent his entire summer that year responding to submissions. He later published a compilation of the submissions and his responses, which can be purchased at Amazon.com or downloaded as a free PDF at ChrisKeatingAuthor.com. Chris also writes the blog, Dialogues on Global Warming, which is devoted to climate change issues.

Chris most recent book is the thriller, That Which Maddens and Torments. It pits an ambitious, hard-hitting young newspaper journalist writing about global warming against villainous denier lobbyists in Washington, D.C., who are working for the fossil fuel industry. At the behest of their clients, the lobbyists will stop at nothing to protect the industry’s profits and to ensure that a scientific study proving the truth of global warming does not become public. Chris hopes that by tackling the issue of global warming via a work of fiction, he will engage a broader cross section of people in the issue.

After successful careers as an Intelligence Officer in the U.S. Navy and the Navy Reserve and then as a professor of physics, Chris now lives in the Texas Hill Country, where he continues to focus on climate change research and to write.

For More Information

Visit Christopher Keating’s website.
Connect with Christopher on Facebook and Twitter.
Find out more about Christopher at Goodreads.
Visit Christopher’s blog.

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INTERVIEW

Tell our readers about you

I am a professor of physics and retired from the Navy and Navy Reserve. Nowadays, I devote myself to writing and doing research on climate change.

What inspires you to get out of bed each day?

I live a wonderful life. It doesn’t take much to inspire me each day. I really do look forward to each day. I’m having a blast.

If you could hang out with one famous person for one day, who would it be and why?

I would love to spend some time with Benjamin Franklin. He as a great scientist and was an eye-witness to some of the greatest events in the history of our country. It would be so much fun to hear what he had to say.

What’s the story behind your latest book?

The book is inspired by real world events and people. It is a fictional story, but the science and politics is real.

Tell us your writing process

I am all over the place when I write. I will write a scene when it comes to me, even when it is out of sequence. Then, I work to tie them all together. I wrote the final, epic scene of That Which Maddens and Torments first and then worked towards that conclusion.

When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?

When I was about seven. A friend of mine in second grade was putting together a book of World War II stories and asked me to write one. I enjoyed it and have been writing, off and on, ever since.

Tell us about your main character:

Josephine Black is starting out on a career as a newspaper journalist and is encouraged to specialize in climate change. Her reporting uncovers things powerful people would prefer to remain hidden and she gets in trouble as a result.

What are you working on next?

Purple Legion. It is the story of unforeseen consequences and how we treat each other. On one hand it will be quirky, but also with a serious side.

Do you have any special/extraordinary talents?

I’ve tried moving things with my mind like a Jedi, but no luck. I guess I’m just a regular guy.

Who are your favorite authors?

Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein were great inspirations for me. Today, I love Ken Follett and I laugh out loud while reading anything by Bill Bryson. I have a very wide taste in books.

What do you like to do with your free time?

I work on my house and spend time with my friends when I’m not reading, writing and doing research.

Tell us about your plans for upcoming books.

After Purple Legion I will be writing a humorous book about life in the Texas Hill Country. It should be a lot of fun.

 

Any final thoughts?

I just want to say ‘thank you’ for the opportunity to talk about my book.

Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: @ckeatingauthor, Christopher Keating, interview, Pump Up Your Book, PUYB, PUYB Virtual Book Club, That Which Maddens and Torments

Sarantos – New Official Music Video

Awesome new music video by Sarantos – “You (just) Don’t Have It.” The charity for this one is Girl Effect.

Sarantos Releases a Fun New Pop Music Video For “You (just) Don’t Have It” Just In Time For Halloween Because Men Don’t Always Care About Fame & Money.

Halloween often means a night to pretend you are someone else. Halloween can be a wonderful escape from reality. Who doesn’t love to impersonate and mislead once in a while? Masks allow one to be something they are not. Even Batman uses one!

In today’s world, teens and adults have a hard enough time trying to find their place in the world. Being true to oneself isn’t always encouraged at work, in love, in the media or sadly even in the real world. Perfection is not attainable yet it is a common illusion on full display in movies, TV shows and most media outlets. As this song lightheartedly points out though, perfection is not what everyone wants or desires. Why should they? The real world is full of imperfections and they are something all of us should accept and embrace. Being human means being imperfect.

This latest pop music video mirrors the playful nature of the song. No matter how much that perfect stuck-up rich girl wants Sarantos, she just doesn’t have what he really wants. The video then describes what Sarantos truly desires – a humble human, playful, not lazy, sweet and nice, with passionate eyes… Money and looks aren’t really important and in today’s world, that message is like a breath of fresh air, isn’t it??

“This is a fun video about a hot rich girl who’s used to getting what she always wants” says Sarantos. “But for me, she just doesn’t have it. She doesn’t have what my soul desires. She’s not sweet and nice, or humble and innocent. Today’s world is super busy and fast paced but every movie and TV show is full of perfect people acting perfectly and it’s such a poor reflection of the real world. Love is a magical moment in time and is different for everyone. There is no script. There are no rules. There’s nothing wrong with love that’s not perfect because love never is!”

Sarantos Bio

Sarantos has continued releasing a new song and music video every month in 2015 as he unveils his eagerly anticipated sophomore album. This collection zeroes in on his unique signature style continuing to merge 80s rock with modern pop rock music. The evolution of Sarantos musical style is readily apparent to fans and seasoned musicians alike.

His 1st solo album dropped on November 18th 2014 and the diversity was amazing as Sarantos tackled almost every genre imaginable ranging from pop, rock, jazz, rap and country. As a complete surprise to his fans, one week later on Black Friday Sarantos also released a Christmas album. This was a wonderful collection of 4 brand new original Christmas songs, 10 covers of Christmas classics and 9 inspirational Christmas short stories. Families will enjoy listening to this CD every Christmas season…

Sarantos unique sound has been best described by industry insiders as “an emotionally powerful vocal style masterfully united with music that is a fusion of classic 80s rock blended with modern soft rock and pop music!”

Sarantos won the Akademia LA Music Awards in 2015 for Best Song (What If I Never See You Again), Best Rock Song (Easy To Believe), Best Rock Music Video (We Accept The Love We Think We Deserve), Best Singer/Songwriter Song (A Mission Of Heart, I Sing), Best Pop Song (I Sing) & Best Pop Rock Album (Not Where I Wanna Be).

Sarantos has won twelve Beat 100 song & music video awards in 2015 and 2014. Sarantos was nominated for the International Music & Entertainments Awards in 2015 for “Rock Song of the Year” and in 2014 for “Rock Song of the Year” and “Pop Album of the Year.” In 2014, he was also nominated for the Hollywood Songwriting Awards for Best Unsigned Song (Are You Sure You Can Last).

Even without a label or radio promoters, Sarantos song “What If I Never See You Again” has been in the top200 on the majors list in the US for radio airplay according to the Digital Radio Tracker Top 200 charts. On the independent charts, Sarantos is still in the top 10. He’s been on both these lists since early April.

Sarantos currently has over 1.4M Social Media followers and is rated #2 on Reverbnation in the pop genre worldwide. Sarantos performed at the Toronto Music Festival in May to a sold out live audience. Sarantos music has received rave reviews and he relishes this chance to pursue his life long dream.

With new hit tunes waiting to be released every single month until the day he dies, Sarantos music screams success and stimulates an overdue conversation in the always changing music industry. Sarantos loyal music fans continue to show their support by proudly showing off Sarantos merchandise and staying tuned into Sarantos daily down-to-earth and very real social media revelations. His songs are being broadcast every day on various radios stations around the world. Sarantos continues to do interviews around the world every singleweek and fans can listen in to some of them on his YouTube page. Let’s not forget his funny, sarcastic, witty and genuinely real music videos that leave his fans not knowing what to expect next. Sarantos never sticks to just one theme or one emotion. He doesn’t want fans to get bored!

There will be plenty of continued buzz throughout the year as Sarantos strives to release something new to his fans every single week! Every year until the day he dies, Sarantos will release a new song on the 1st Tuesday of every month, a new music video on the 2nd Tuesday of every month, a chapter from his fiction/fantasy book on the 3rd Tuesday of every month, and a new Whiteboard video on the 4th Tuesday of every month. A new CD will then be released every November. Every year. Forever.

Sarantos has been writing lyrics since 4th grade and is passionate about the words he puts to the music. Music was always in his blood. Music was always a passion and much more than a hobby. Sarantos has written over 2,000 songs!

Having undergone several personal challenges with Sarantos’ father passing away four years ago after a long hard-fought battle with lung cancer, dealing with personal health issues like asthma and allergies which affected his singing style, going thru life’s ups & downs, the timing was finally right to start pursuing his lifelong dream. And so it began. Sarantos main motivation remains, however, to raise money for charity.

33% of any music related sales are going straight to charity!

Sarantos has always been inclined to help people in need and is proud to launch his music as a way to donate a portion of proceeds to charity, hopefully inspiring other artists to do the same. Just a few of the charities chosen so far include American Cancer Society, American Lung Association, Make-a-Wish Foundation, American Heart Association, St Jude’s, American Red Cross, Salvaton Army, Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Feed The Starving Children, National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, The National Center For Fathering and many more.

The website, Melogia (which in Greek means “with words”) was established by Sarantos, an aspiring singer and song writer.

Sarantos Mission or Goal:

My goal when you listen to one of my songs is very simple. I want you to feel the need to:

Sing
Dance or move to the groove
Play the song over and over again










Website: http://www.melogia.com
Sarantos Empowr: www.empowr.com/sarantosmelogiaSarantos
Facebook artist page: https://www.facebook.com/SarantosmelogiaSarantos
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/sarantosmelogiaSarantos
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/SarantosMelogia
Sarantos iTunes & Apple Connect: http://bit.ly/SarantosAppleStore


Sarantos Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/1/+SarantosMelogia

Filed under: Music Reviews Tagged: #newmusic, #newpopmusic, #newpopsong, #richgirls, #top40, @sarantosmelogia, Melogia, Music, Sarantos

Book Tour – The Kill Box (A Jamie Sinclair Novel)

Title: The Kill Box (A Jamie Sinclair Novel)

Author: Nichole Christoff

Genre: Thriller / Mystery

In an intense thriller that’s perfect for fans of Lee Child or Lisa Gardner, security specialist and PI Jamie Sinclair tackles a cold case that could cost her the one person who means the most to her.

Hardworking Jamie Sinclair can’t wait for the weekend. She plans to be off the clock and on the road to wine country with handsome military police officer Adam Barrett. But when a strung-out soldier takes an innocent woman hostage and forces his way into Jamie’s bedroom, everything changes. Jamie’s never seen the soldier before. But he’s no stranger to Barrett—and with one word he persuades Barrett to pack a duffel and leave Jamie in the lurch.

Jamie cannot fathom why Barrett would abandon her without explanation. But as the consequences of an unsolved crime threaten to catch up with him, a late-night phone call sends Jamie racing to Barrett’s hometown in upstate New York. In a tinderbox of shattered trust and long-buried secrets, Jamie must fight to uncover the truth about what really occurred one terrible night twenty years ago. And the secrets she discovers deep in Barrett’s past not only threaten their future together—they just might get her killed.

Author Bio

Nichole Christoff is a writer, broadcaster, and military spouse who has worked on air and behind the scenes producing and promoting content for radio, television news, and the public relations industry across the United States and Canada.

Nic’s first manuscript won the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart®. Her second won the Helen McCloy-Mystery Writers of America Scholarship. Nic has also been named as a finalist for the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense and Killer Nashville’s Claymore Dagger.

Nic has sipped champagne at the birthday celebration of His Majesty, the King of Thailand, played party games at the residence of the British High Commissioner, and learned to make sushi from the chef to His Excellency, the Ambassador of Japan. When she isn’t penning her latest novel, Nic teaches Creative Writing at a small, private university.

Her debut thriller, The Kill List: A Jamie Sinclair Novel, was a December 2, 2014 release from Random House’s Alibi.

Website: http://www.nicholechristoff.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nicchristoff
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NicholeChristoff
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8393402.Nichole_Christoff

Links

Penguin Random House: Penguin Random House

Goodreads: Goodreads

Amazon: Amazon

B&N: B&N

Books-a-Million: Books-a-Million

Google Play Store: Google Play Store

iBooks: iBooks

Kobo: Kobo

Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: @nicchristoff, Enchanted book promotions, Nichole Christoff, The Kill Box (A Jamie Sinclair Novel)

Book Tour – Developing Minds

Book Genre: Literary Fiction

Publisher: Laughing Fire Press

Release Date: September 14, 2015

Buy Link(s): Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Developing-Minds-American-Ghost-Story/dp/0967492297/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1442109831&sr=8-2&keywords=developing+minds

Barnes and Noble.com:http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/developing-minds-jonathan-lapoma/1122192543?ean=9780967492292Book Description:-“Raw and edgy. . . Entertaining and authentic look at the troubled American education system. . .” —Kirkus Reviews, Recommended Review



–“Should be required reading for anyone who is considering or has ever considered teaching as a career. . . most highly recommended.” —Readers’ Favorite, 5-Star Review-“A scathing comic novel . . . sort of a M*A*S*H for Miami schoolteachers.” —Patrick Murtha, Book ’em, Danno-“Incredibly artistic . . . raw and endearing.” –San Francisco Book Review



-“A multi-faceted exploration of growth, maturity, and eventual transformation. . .” —D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review-Finalist in 2015 Stargazer Literary Prizes for best Visionary and Metaphysical FictionDEVELOPING MINDS: AN AMERICAN GHOST STORY follows a group of recent college graduates who struggle with feelings of alienation and their addictions as they try to survive a year of teaching at two dysfunctional Miami public schools.A poetic and insightful coming-of-age novel, DEVELOPING MINDS is centered on 24-year-old Luke Entelechy, an aspiring writer who sees his creative output suffer when he begins teaching at one of Miami’s most challenging middle schools. As the year progresses, however, Luke begins to relate to the neglect and abuse his students suffer, and is faced with a haunting decision: continue to let his dark past destroy him, or rise above the struggle to realize his potential as an artist and a real human being.Equal parts disturbing and humorous, DEVELOPING MINDS offers a brutally honest look at the American public school system and the extreme measures many teachers take to cope with working in it.

Author Bio:Jonathan LaPoma is an award-winning novelist, screenwriter, songwriter, and poet from Buffalo, NY. In 2005, he received a BA in history and a secondary education credential from the State University of New York at Geneseo, and he traveled extensively throughout the United States and Mexico after graduating. These experiences have become the inspiration for much of his writing, which often explores themes of alienation and misery as human constructions that can be overcome through self-understanding and the acceptance of suffering. His five feature-length screenplays have won over 40 awards/honors at various international screenwriting competitions, and his novel DEVELOPING MINDS: AN AMERICAN GHOST STORY is a finalist in the 2015 Stargazer Literary Prizes for best Visionary and Metaphysical Fiction. He lives in San Diego and teaches at a public secondary school.

Author Links – 

Website: http://www.jonlapoma.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/jonlapoma

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JonLaPoma

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanlapoma

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25586052-developing-minds

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Developing-Minds-American-Ghost-Story/dp/0967492297/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1442109831&sr=8-2&keywords=developing+minds

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Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: #DevelopingMinds, #vbtcafetours, @JonLaPoma, An American Ghost Story, Contest, Developing Minds, Ebook giveaway, Giveaway, Jonathan LaPoma, VBT Cafe, virtual book tour café, win

Book Tour – Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things

Title: Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things

Author: Martina McAtee

Publisher: Martina McAtee

Pages: 450

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

17 year old Ember Denning has made an art of isolating herself. She prefers the dead. She spends her days skipping school in old cemeteries and her nights hiding from her alcoholic father at the funeral home where she works. When her own father dies, Ember learns her whole life is a lie. Standing in the cemetery that’s been her sanctuary, she’s threatened by the most beautiful boy she’s ever seen and rescued by two people who claim to be her family. They say she’s special, that she has a supernatural gift like them…they just don’t know exactly what it is.

They take her to a small Florida town, where Ember’s life takes a turn for the weird. She’s living with her reaper cousins, an orphaned werewolf pack, a faery and a human genius. Ember’s powers are growing stronger, morphing into something bigger than anything anybody anticipated. Ember has questions but nobody has answers. Nobody knows what she is. They only know her mysterious magical gift is trying to kill them and that beautiful dangerous boy from the cemetery may be the only thing standing between her and death.

As Ember’s talents are revealed so are the secrets her father hid and those in power who would seek to destroy her. What’s worse, saving Ember has put her cousins in danger and turned her friend’s lives upside down. Ember must learn to embrace her magic or risk losing the family she’s pieced together.

For More Information

Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things is available at Amazon.

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GIVEAWAY

Martina will be giving away a sugar skull coffee mug with Day of the Dead tea and sugar skull shaped sugar cubes!  Enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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EXCERPT

She went lightheaded as the enormity of her words hit her, “Oh, God. This is like the part in the movie where you try to kill me, right? You are going to try to kill me and I feel too crappy to even try to run.”

She was talking more to herself now. She leaned back against the rusted mausoleum gates behind her, enjoying the cool metal against her skin. Her head was swimming, the stars above blurring in the sky. No, not now, she thought. It was happening again. Whatever had happened earlier in the cemetery was happening again. She could feel it rising up in her, that weird feeling like her insides were melting and liquefying while she could do nothing to stop it. Was this a panic attack? Could a panic attack cause what happened in the cemetery earlier? Maybe this was some kind of fight or flight adrenaline response.

She felt caged, trapped by her own body. It was all in her head. The ground wasn’t vibrating at her feet. There was no way she was really burning up in forty-degree weather. Even in her haze she could see him watching her. Maybe if she just held still, he would be quick about it.

Her head lulled on her shoulders. She was going to pass out. It would serve him right. Then he was just there, in her space, fingers cupping her face. She moaned at the feel of his cold hands against her overheated flesh. “And if it is, Luv? If this is the part where I try to kill you? What then? Are you going to pass out and take all the fun out of it? Or will you fight back?”

There was no mistaking the threat of his words, but he was close enough to whisper them against her skin like a promise. She couldn’t think straight. Her head filled with a sound like angry bees. She pitched forward, dropping her forehead to his shoulder, eyes drifting closed.

He was so cold; even through the layers of his clothes; his body seemed to emit this pleasant icy radiance that soothed her feverish skin. She wrapped herself around him, locking her arms. She buried her face against his throat, nose rubbing against his skin.

She felt his body go rigid in her arms. She didn’t blame him, on some level she understood sane girls didn’t try to cuddle their killers. But nobody ever accused her of being sane. She was the girl who played in cemeteries and talked to the dead. She was the girl with three therapists before she was twelve. She was the girl in flames and he was ice water; if she was going to die, she was going to have this first.

They stood there, bound together by her forced embrace. Those strange vibrations increased, building inside her like a living thing, a burning energy trying to melt her from the inside out. She could hear his ragged breath panting against her ear, could feel him writhing in her grasp, but she refused to let go. Could he feel it too?

She clung to him, knowing if she let go this peculiar energy would overwhelm her. She breathed him in, letting him anchor her as it kept building and burning, growing until it thrust from her with the force of a sledgehammer. He groaned like he’d received the physical blow, he may have fallen had she not been holding him to her. Finally, the world seemed to right itself. Her blood ceased to boil and the vibrations stopped. When her mind quieted, she became very aware of what she was doing.

She let go, shoving him back. Despite his size, he stumbled, blinking hard. They stared at each other, his confusion mirroring her own.

“What are you?” she whispered. “What are you doing to me?”

He rushed her, shoving her against the concrete hard enough to knock her teeth together, “What did I do to you? What game are you playing? What are you? What was that? What did you do?”

She whimpered, feet scrambling for purchase as she realized he’d lifted her from the ground. Her heart thundered in her chest. He was fit but not big enough to haul her off her feet like that. She shoved at him uselessly. “Put me down.”

Her descent was abrupt, her heart lodging in her throat. His eyes narrowed, his hands tangling in her messy hair, tilting her head to the side. “Come on, Luv, you can tell me. I’m sure it’s eating at you, keeping this secret.”

He was insane. She opened her mouth to say so but her brain short-circuited as his nose traced along the column of her throat. “I promise, things will be so much easier if you just tell me,” he purred, his lips pressing the words into her skin. She moved closer to him. In her defense, she’d never been this close to a boy before; especially not one who looked like he did.

“We can do this one of two ways,” He inhaled her scent, pressing his mouth to the shell of her ear as he said, “I promise one is infinitely more pleasurable than the other,”

Ew. Oh, God. What was she doing? What was he doing? Seducing her for information? Threatening her? It really bothered her that she didn’t know the difference.

She needed to get it together. Her breath hitched in her chest. This was not how she saw herself dying. She’d had a plan. She’d written it down obituary style for a morbid ninth grade English assignment. She was supposed to die of obscenely old age in her enormous but tastefully decorated plantation home surrounded by her beautiful and ungrateful grandchildren.

He huffed out a laugh and she realized she’d said all that aloud. She was too scared to be embarrassed. Instead, she slapped at his hands ineffectively.

He stepped away so abruptly she staggered, pacing before her, “You’re seriously not going to tell me? You’re only hurting yourself on this one.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” she told him, “You’re crazy.”

He sighed heavily, his tone shifting as if speaking to a rather stupid child, “I’ll figure it out eventually.” He told her, pointing at her, “You don’t smell like a witch. You certainly aren’t a shifter.” Then he was back before her, gripping her chin, turning her head side to side, like he was examining livestock, “But you most definitely aren’t human.” Tiny hairs rose along her skin at his touch, “You’re trying my patience. What the hell are you?”

She pushed away from him, head throbbing with his words. “Stop with the grabby hands,”

She needed to think. He was clearly unhinged. She had very few options. She could run but she doubted she could outrun him. Her gaze raked across broad shoulders and a flat stomach, he looked like he did a lot of cardio. She could scream but there wasn’t anybody to hear her. Instead, she did what she always did when she was nervous…she babbled.

She’d watched a million documentaries on serial killers and the mentally ill. She could figure this out. Netflix was her friend. She wracked her brain, if he was a killer she had to make him see her as a person, tell him about her life, say her name a lot, make him believe people cared if she died, even if it was a lie.

But what if he was schizophrenic? He thought she wasn’t human. What was she supposed to do? Orient him to reality? Play along with his fantasy? She should have paid more attention.

“What’s your name?” she heard herself say, voice breathless.

He arched his brow, tsking softly, expression bored. “I’m asking the questions here,”

“Just tell me your name,” she demanded, panic creeping back in.

“Mace,” the answer tumbled from his lips unbidden. He looked mystified, like his own mouth had betrayed him. He absently rubbed a spot on his chest.

“Mace,” she repeated, with a nod. Okay, it was a start. “So um, here’s the thing, Mace. I’m only seventeen and I don’t want to die.”

He gave her a look and a ‘fair enough’ shrug and gestured for her to continue, clearly amused by this turn of events.

She frowned, but soldiered on, “You can’t be much older than me so let’s just think about this for a minute, okay?” She raked a hand through her damp hair, “I’m not really sure why you want to kill me but my life has pretty much sucked up until now. Like so much suckage. I can’t even explain the level of suck, but I feel like, statistically speaking, that’s gotta change. I’m not trying to sound like a motivational poster but it’s supposed to get better. I’d very much like to have a pulse when it does,”

He narrowed his eyes at her, brow furrowed. He stepped forward.

“Stop,” she held up her hand, palm out, “Just listen,”

He stopped, looking at his feet then at her again.

“I’m a nice girl,” she told him, before frowning, “but maybe you don’t care about that. I mean, if you’re, like, a murderous psychopath, you probably aren’t super interested in my feelings, but what about yourself?” She reasoned, gesturing spastically to all of his…self, “You seem like the kind of guy who thinks a lot of himself.”

He cocked an eyebrow but said nothing. She was in turbo babble mode now, “If you kill me your life is over. You will definitely go to jail. I mean, look at me.” She gestured to her face, “I look like an ad for facial cleanser and girls who eat yogurt. Juries eat that stuff up. You’d probably get the chair.”

He looked a little dazed. “You make a passionate yet confusing plea, Luv,”

Her heart sank as he took a tentative step towards her, then another. He grinned as he advanced.

“Come on. I’m sure you don’t want to go to prison.” She whined, “You are way too pretty for prison. You’d make a lot of the wrong kind of friends in prison.” Stop saying prison, Ember, she begged herself. “Do you want those kind of friends? Of course, you don’t. We could be friends?” she finished lamely, face flushing with shame. Maybe he should just kill her. It would be less embarrassing.

He blinked at her, cheek twitching, “Aw, are you asking me to be your friend? One might question your judgment.”

Her hands fell to her hips, swaying on her feet. “Wow, not to put too fine a point on it, but I’ve only seen you twice and both times you were here,” she gestured to their surroundings. “You hang out in cemeteries because you have so many friends? Is this were your book club meets?”

“I can see why you have no friends,” he told her drolly.

She squinted as something glinted in the air above his head.

“I-” was all he managed before the object made contact with his head, sounding like a hammer hitting an overripe melon. He hit his knees with a groan, whatever he was going to say dying on his lips.

She looked at his crumpled form, unreasonably disappointed.

She’d really wanted to know what he was going to say.

————————————————————————————-

About The Author

Martina McAtee lives in Jupiter, Florida with her teenage daughter, her best friend, two attack Chihuahua’s and two shady looking cats. By day she is a registered nurse but by night she writes young adult books about reapers, zombies, werewolves and other supernatural creatures. When she isn’t working, teaching or writing she’s reading or watching shows that involve reapers, zombies, werewolves and other supernatural creatures. Her debut novel Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things is set to release on August 31st, 2015. She is currently working on the second book in the series, Your Soul to Take, due to release in 2016.

For More Information

Visit Martina McAtee’s website.
Connect with Martina on Facebook and Twitter.
Find out more about Martina at Goodreads.
Visit Martina’s blog.

————————————————————————————-

INTERVIEW

Please share with our readers something about you

I am a writer and I have recently released my first young adult paranormal romance novel Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things. I’m also a registered nurse, the mother to a beautiful seventeen year old daughter and the pseudo mom to many of her friends. I teach in the evenings and spend too much time online. I live in Jupiter, Florida with my best friend, a couple of teenagers and too many animals to name.

What inspires you to get out of bed each day?

My alarm clock? Sorry, bad joke. Really, my curiosity inspires me to get out of bed every day. I always want to know what will happen next. I have a pretty great life. I work for one of the most internationally respected healthcare centers in the world, I have a wonderful family and I just published a book. I love getting out of bed every day, even though my bed is really comfortable.

If you could hang out with one famous person for one day, who would it be and why?

This is such a hard question. There are so many people I would give anything to meet but if I have to choose just one person I’m going to go with Chris Colfer and the reasons why are probably too enormous to fit here but I’ll try to explain anyway. The kid has accomplished more at 25 years old then most people will achieve in a lifetime. He’s won an Emmy, wrote and starred in the only movie to ever make me bawl like a baby, wrote several international bestselling children’s books and is a huge inspiration to the LGBT community. But the real reason I’d like to meet him is because, when my mom was dying from cancer, I sort of developed this strange attachment to the show Glee. It was a great way to break away from the stress of her getting sicker. No matter how ridiculous the show itself was it got me through a really low point in my life so it would be nice to get to meet him face to face. Besides, maybe some of his success would rub off on me.

What’s the story behind your latest book?

This book started because of a really strange dream I had five or so years ago. I had a dream of an orange haired girl walking along in the snow with her friends but she was talking to a boy nobody could see but her. That dream went on to be the basis for book two in this series but I realized while I was trying to write book two I needed to go back further, needed to explain how this girl has the powers she does and how they came to be in this situation in the first place and that’s how the first book, Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things came about.

Tell us your writing process

My writing process is chaotic. It’s a lot of mainlining caffeine and spacing out during conversations with others when my characters hijack my brain. I will often pull out my phone in the middle of lunch or a meeting and pull up Evernote to write down a conversation or snippet of an idea. I am not a planner. This is probably why I have so many mental breakdowns in the course of a writing project but I just can’t do it. I’ve tried. I’ve tried writing programs and note cards and a million books on outlining but when all is said and done, I start out with my ending and then rely entirely on my characters to tell me how to get there. This is not the way I would tell others to write but it works for me.

When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?

I never really wanted to be a writer, I just always was. I think I wrote my first story when I was four. I remember sitting on the steps of my Nana’s apartment when I was eight writing out plays with my friend, Sara in spiral bound notebooks and colored pencils. I just always had these voices in my head, these pictures and conversations and I finally decided to write them down. I was always too shy as a kid to share anything I wrote and wrote under a pen-name for years. This is the first book I’m sharing with the public with my actual name on it.

Tell us about your main character:

Ember is a 17 year old girl who is has become an expert at avoiding spending time in the real world. She is bullied in school and has a terrible home life because her father is a barely functioning alcoholic. She hides in cemeteries and the funeral home where she works because it’s easier to deal with people who can’t disappoint you. When her father dies, she learns her entire life was a lie. The supernatural is real, she has a family she never knew and her father has been hiding the truth from her for years. She has an easier time believing in the supernatural than she does believing she herself is supernatural.

What are you working on next?

I’m hard at work on book two which, as I said before, was actually the original premise for the story but given all the events that took place in book one, I’ve had to re-evaluate all the things I thought I knew going into writing this book. I hope to have book two out by spring of next year.

Do you have any special/extraordinary talents?

I don’t know if I would call them special? I read 800 words per minute with an accuracy of 70 percent. I think that’s only impressive to nerds like me. I have a near savant like ability to Google things and get the information people are looking for and I have a near eidetic memory which in no way helps with my day to day life but makes me a huge asset when playing trivia.

Who are your favorite authors?

How much time do you have? As a kid I read Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine. I love Dean Koontz and Stephen King when I am looking for horror and suspense. I go to Eloisa James and Lisa Kleypas when I am desperate for a good romance. With young adult it runs the gambit from J.K. Rowling and Chris Colfer to Jennifer Armentrout or Lauren Kate. I love books.

What do you like to do with your free time?

I am a full time registered nurse and I also teach in the evenings so I don’t have a lot of free time. What time I do have is usually dedicated to spending time with my family or writing. Family activities usually revolve around Netflix or kickboxing. That being said, when I want to truly decompress, I open my laptop and give up my soul to the time suck that is Tumblr. I’ve lost entire days scrolling through Tumblr re-blogging everything from feminism and pro-LGBT posts to Glee and Supernatural fanfiction. I am truly a fangirl at heart and love to spend time online with people who love the same things I do and don’t shame me for my fanfiction addiction.

Tell us about your plans for upcoming books.

I’m currently working on book two in the Dead Things series and I’m hoping to have it out in early spring of 2016. I think there will be four books in the series total but I’m planning a couple of stand-alone novellas for Isa and Wren and will be periodically putting out bonus chapters, deleted scenes and other content to keep people occupied between books. I also have a couple ideas for some possible spin-off series I’m considering.

Where can people find you on the web?

The easiest place to find me is my website. www.martinamcatee.com from there you can email me directly or connect with me on my social media. I love to talk to readers. Really, I love to talk to anybody but if you are a fan of the book it’s a bonus. Come find me.

Any final thoughts?

So many. But really, I would like to say thank you for the opportunity to come hang out on you blog and I really hope people enjoy the book.

Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: @MartinaMcAtee1, Book Giveaway, Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things, free book, Giveaway, Martina McAtee, Pump Up Your Book, PUYB, YA Paranormal Romance

Book Event – Brimbank Shopping Centre

The awesome team over at Oz Authors is coming to the Brimbank Shopping Centre for the week starting 12th Oct 2015.

If you are in the area be sure to drop in and support Australian authors by buying a copy of their books.

ASJ Publishing authors, Max Davine and yours truly will be there signing copies of our books on October 17th.

Max Davine will be on from 1PM til 3PM, signing copies of his book, Dino Hunt.

I will be on from 11AM til 1PM, signing copies of my novel, Rise Of The Darkness.

 

 

Filed under: Events Tagged: Australian authors, Book Signing, Brimbank Shopping Centre, Dino Hunt, Max Davine, Oz Authors, Rise of the Darkness

Book Tour – With New Eyes: The Power of Perspective

 

Title: With New Eyes: The Power of Perspective

Author: Heidi Siefkas

Genre: Memoir / Inspiration

Heidi Siefkas lost her health, her career, and her marriage after she was struck by a one thousand-pound tree branch. While she made great strides in her physical and emotional recovery in the months that followed—an arduous process that she chronicled in When All Balls Drop—Heidi wasn’t content to merely survive her setbacks. The time was right to build a new life. One she could live on her own terms.

But what would a redesigned life look like? In her quest for answers, Heidi returned to her childhood home in Wisconsin, dove into the South Florida dating scene, revisited old flames in New England, sold her first home, jumped out of a plane, and traveled alone to South America. Every leg of her journey provided a healthy dose of perspective.

With New Eyes is full of mishaps and bold decisions, all seasoned with sassy humor. Through her signature down-to-earth vignettes, Heidi inspires you to conquer your fears, head for adventure, and be the captain of your own ship.

Author Bio



Heidi Siefkas is an author and adventurer. Originally from small-town Wisconsin, she lives in Kauai and also calls the Midwest and South Florida home. Heidi is currently writing her third book, Cubicle to Cuba, which features a humorous collection of stories about her travels to Cuba, Peru, New Zealand, Italy, and other far-flung places.

Heidi invites you to share photos on social media that show where you are enjoying With New Eyes (#withneweyes). You can connect with Heidi at http://www.heidisiefkas.com, Facebook, and Twitter.

Buy the Book

B&N link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/with-new-eyes-heidi-siefkas/1122444660?ean=9781627872607

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26089577-with-new-eyes

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/New-Eyes-Power-Perspective/dp/1627872604/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Book Excerpt

Just Let Go

With my heart racing and chilled to the bone, I gripped the edge of the airplane door. Harnessed between the long legs of a man I’d met only a half hour before, I had to focus on Randy’s words.

“Okay, Heidi, head back and cross your arms,” he commanded. “And . . . let’s . . . GO!”

Jumping at ten thousand feet—that was when I just let go. Arms extended and eyes wide open, I was free-falling through the frigid air. Everything was flapping, from my forehead to my cheeks and lips. I could hear the light blue material of my jumpsuit beating violently like a sail in an ocean storm’s wind gust. Suddenly, I focused in on a jumper nearby, the videographer filming us. In tandem, Randy and I were heading straight for him.

I watched the videographer falling flat-backed, his abdomen toward the sky, as if in an orchestrated scene in an action thriller. Then Randy quickly grabbed his legs. From there, the three of us—like synchronized swimmers—did circles in the air again and again and again. All of my fear and anxiety had been overtaken by these moments of dancing at high speeds. It felt effortless!

Totally in awe, I screamed, “Hoooooly shit!”

Within a matter of seconds, Randy released the videographer’s legs. We separated like magnets with similar poles, and I quickly lost sight of him. Then Randy pulled the parachute cord. Together, we jerked to a forced reduced speed, which didn’t feel all that slow to me. Although we had free-fallen for about sixty seconds, we still had a long way to go before hitting the flat field below. To give us more breathing room, he loosened the harness, creating a contrast to the intimate and intense contact of the past few minutes.

“This isn’t your first jump,” Randy shouted so I could hear.

“Oh yes, it is. And that was fuckin’ awesome.”

“But you didn’t seem afraid of it at all. You’re embracing the jump as if it were routine.”

“I’ve gone through one hell of a year. I broke my neck and got a divorce. Need I say more?”

Juggling Lots of Balls

Only a year prior to throwing myself out of that airplane, I was juggling a lot of balls: a happy marriage to a successful Brazilian chef; a home outside of Fort Lauderdale, Florida; and a physically active lifestyle, partaking in all the outdoor sports that the sun, sand, and water of Florida have to offer. The most consuming “ball” was a sixty-hour-a-week career as an ambitious, globetrotting travel-industry executive.

I thought I was Superwoman.

But despite my belief that I had things under control, it all came crashing down. Exactly one year before this skydiving adventure, all those balls I juggled—health, marriage, and career—dropped when a thousand-pound tree limb struck me down in New York’s Hudson River Valley. The limb broke my neck and left me unconscious for days.

If you have read my previous book When All Balls Drop, you followed me through the pain and frustration of recovery from such a traumatic injury while my marriage disintegrated and my career vanished. When I could, I returned to Poughkeepsie, New York, to revisit The Tree. Doing so sparked a shift in perspective that guided me to redesign my life. Standing in the same place with the same tree—but seeing it with new eyes—marked the end of one agonizing chapter of my recovery and the beginning of a wholesale life change.

That’s why on the anniversary of the traumatic tree accident, I was tied to another man’s waist, embracing life not close to the edge but off that edge, celebrating the gift of seeing the world with new eyes.

After that game-changing visit to The Tree, much healing still lay ahead. With New Eyes picks up where When All Balls Drop left off, starting with a pilgrimage back to my home town in Wisconsin.

Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: @withneweyes, Book Excerpt, Enchanted book promotions, Heidi Siefkas, With New Eyes: The Power of Perspective

Book Tour – Not in God’s Name: Making Sense of Religious Conflict

Title: Not in God’s Name: Making Sense of Religious Conflict

Author: Paula Fouce

Publisher: Paradise Filmworks International

Pages: 254

Genre: Nonfiction/Religion

Format: Paperback/Kindle/Nook/iTunes

“We’re all praying to the same Divine, which is called by many names or no name at all.” In her new book, NOT IN GOD’S NAME: MAKING SENSE OF RELIGIOUS CONFLICT (based on award winning film that aired on PBS “Not in God’s Name: In Search of Tolerance with the Dalai Lama”), Paula Fouce searches for solutions to end the escalating violence between religious groups. She has lived and worked in many South Asian countries including India, Tibet, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Kashmir, where she experienced a variety of vast cultural and religious diversity. But Fouce came face-to-face with the destructiveness of religious-based conflict while in India when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards.

As a result of Gandhi’s murder, thousands of Sikhs were massacred. Fouce escaped unharmed, but she was shaken by the explosion of violence from a people who had treated her with care and compassion before the death of their leader. The experience prompted Fouce to undergo a personal quest to understand the reasons behind the intolerance. What was the genesis of violent religion-inspired conflicts – the underlying chaos that has led to major violent conflicts such as the Crusades (1095–1291), the Partition of India in 1947, the 2009 Mumbai attacks, the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, the 2015 Paris attacks, and other religion-inspired conflicts?

In NOT IN GOD’S NAME: MAKING SENSE OF RELIGIOUS CONFLICT, Fouce shares her journey for spiritual enlightenment that began after she survived a car crash in which she was thrown from the vehicle. After her recovery, Fouce traveled to India in 1974 for a semester of study focused on Hindu and Buddhist art. During an early trip, Fouce met Mother Teresa. She returned to India after graduating from college to continue her spiritual exploration, export art, and guide luxury tours.

NOT IN GOD’S NAME: MAKING SENSE OF RELIGIOUS CONFLICT discusses the histories of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity, as well as Jainism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, and other religions. Fouce spoke with several leaders in the religious tolerance movement, including the Dalai Lama; Mark Juergensmeyer, professor of Religion at the University of California, Santa Barbara; Dr. Karan Singh, a member of India’s Upper House of Parliament; and Dr. Joseph Prabhu, a trustee of the Council for the Parliament of the World’s Religions. In the book, the author asks probing questions of faith leaders and scholars in order to devise solutions for ending the violence among religious groups.

“Although there are differences, we can develop a deep respect for all faith traditions that contribute untold richness to our civilization. Religious tolerance is our greatest tool for promoting world peace,” Fouce says. She identifies specific causes of religious intolerance and offers solutions for bringing the world’s faiths together.

After escaping the Indian religious riots in 1984, Fouce was “was struck with how religion had been twisted and used to create dissention and violence, the antithesis of its intention. My point of view is focused on how to bridge our differences; and my book goes into detail, even describing the compassion training that is now taught in many top universities.” Over the three-year period that Fouce worked on NOT IN GOD’S NAME: MAKING SENSE OF RELIGIOUS CONFLICT, she used the transcripts from interviews for the film documentary of the same title (which was aired on PBS stations nationwide) and researched news stories of current religious conflicts. “Education is sorely needed to ensure a peaceful world where it is understood that diversity is not a threat or a detriment to one’s own good. Diversity is to be celebrated,” Fouce says. “Our unquestionable right as human beings is to freely worship the God of our understanding and to follow that spiritual path whose practices support our doing so.”

Fouce’s purpose for writing NOT IN GOD’S NAME: MAKING SENSE OF RELIGIOUS CONFLICT is to help the reader to understand that there are solutions to religious intolerance. “How do we change the minds of violent fundamentalists? This is the real task ahead, together with preventing people from being attracted to such ideology in the first place. Can we find a middle ground, a live-and-let live coexistence? Herein lies the only answer to the challenge of creating a peaceful future with acceptance. The continued existence of the human race depends on it.”

For More Information

Not in God’s Name: Making Sense of Religious Conflict is available at .
Pick up your copy at .
Download your copy at iTunes.
Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at .

About the Author

Paula Fouce is a critically acclaimed filmmaker and author. Her film credits include Not in God’s Name: In Search of Tolerance with the Dalai Lama, Song of the Dunes: Search for the Original Gypsies (PBS stations), Naked in Ashes, Origins of Yoga, and No Asylum. Her new book, , delves deeper into the subject of religious intolerance and offers solutions that are aimed at uniting all faiths. She was partner and director of KRCA TV Channel 62 in Los Angeles and served as co-chair of the Southern Asian Art Council at Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Fouce is the owner and president of Paradise Filmworks International, a production company based in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. She is currently working on a book that chronicles her experiences living and traveling with the yogis in the Himalayas.

For More Information

Visit Paula Fouce’s .

Book Excerpt

In the countryside outside Delhi, our car sped past endless miles of yellow mustard fields gently rippling in the warm breeze.  It was 2002. My friend Arif was taking me to visit madrassas, Muslim religious schools, in the small agricultural villages. A Kashmiri Muslim, Arif was keen to help me comprehend the causes of religious bigotry. He too had witnessed strife between followers of different religions. I had met him years before in India, when we were both immersed in the peaceful lifestyle of the Himalayas.  It was an idyllic time.

Turning off the main road onto a dirt path, we dodged ancient bullock carts lumbering past. The air was clean out here and I inhaled deeply. The village was peaceful and picturesque. Our car pulled up to a rambling clutch of cement buildings. One was quite elaborate, bearing a striking resemblance to a mini Taj Mahal.

As we climbed out, Arif said, “You don’t know much about Islam, so here’s your chance, to ask this guy whatever you want.”

“True, I’ve been living with Hindu yogis, but this will be totally different.”

Yogis eschewed society’s distractions to seek the answers to the deepest questions of life. They allowed me to accompany them on the ancient footpaths to sacred shrines high up in the Himalayan Mountains. I had spent time photographing them for a book on yogis, Shiva that I wrote with my friend, Denise Tomecko. “The way the Hindus embraced me, their kindness was overwhelming! They invited me into their temples and homes, and offered me their only piece of bread.”

“That’s right, in India our favorite saying is, “Guest is God,” he laughed.

“That’s when I know the snacks and milk tea are coming. Even though they have so little.”

It felt a little strange accepting the boundless offerings they showered on me. I had grown up privileged in Los Angeles with loving parents, and had been fortunate to attend the best private schools. “The yogis and lay people viewed me only as spirit, as an expression of God.”

“That’s India,” Arif laughed.

“You’re right, this is a good chance to talk to a Muslim holy man!” Walking across the powdery dirt clearing surrounded by yellow mustard flowers towards traditional buildings covered in intricate Islamic patterns, we were greeted by young Muslim boys attired in colorfully embroidered baggy trousers and long loose shirts, with skull caps, their huge smiles revealing perfect bright white teeth.  A man with a long beard sitting on a hemp cot, greeted us with the traditional “Salaam halekum,” and motioned me to sit. Hindu, Muslim and Sikh villagers were gathered at his feet in rapt attention as he sat relaxing outside.

Arif explained, “As the head of the madrassa, school they seek him out for prayers and healings, they scribble their problems and those of loved ones onto those small slips of paper”.  The faithful folded the scraps and dropped them on the cot where the holy man prayed over them.

He requested one of his young students to bring tea, as well as his massive, aged and dog-eared copy of the Quran. He stood and made a point of showing me passages in the holy book about Jesus and Mary.

He read in Urdu and Arif translated, “If somebody had leprosy, he would be healed. And he would go to the graveyard and tell the dead people, “get up,” and they would rise. And he would tell the people what was in their house, and the house would be many miles, five hundred miles away. He knew all, this was a symbol of Jesus Christ.”

I asked him, “What is Jesus called in the Quran?”

“Isa Massi. There are two stories about Christ in the Quran. This is another one.” He turned the pages. Arif continued translating, “It’s about Mary now. She was taking a bath in the jungle, cordoned off with cloth. Gabriel came. She was under a date tree, and she would just shake the tree and eat the dates during her pregnancy. And there was a spring right there, where she used to get the water, right there in that place. It’s written in the Quran. And she came with the child, and people sort of looked down upon her wondering, how, where did she get this baby? And the child spoke at that time. He was ten days old. ‘I am God’s follower and I am sent by God, and I have come with the Bible, the book of God. And I will always listen to my Mother.’”

“He went to Israel, that is where he was crucified. From there he vanished. And he’s alive up there,” he pointed skyward. “And he’ll come back again to us,” the Muslim man smiled.

I was touched by how he sought to find common ground with me, pointing a bony finger at the Islamic script as if I could actually read every word; he enthusiastically recited the passages aloud in his gravelly voice.

The wizened holy man then led us into the madrassa where a row of boys sat on the floor huddled over a long, low wooden table supporting massively thick Qurans. Their haunting melodic voices recited from the holy book for hours as they tried to memorize its’ words. “By the time they are eighteen,” Arif explained, “they will know the entire Quran by heart.

Not in God’s Name: Making Sense of Religious Conflict

by Paula Fouce

Nowadays every time we look at a newspaper or hear the news, we are confronted by hatred in the name of religion. Today divisions between faiths ravage our world. At any given time, there are fifty conflicts being fought in the name of religion.  Not in God’s Name: Making Sense of Religious Conflict examines why religious clashes are on the rise, and why these different creeds often don’t live in harmony with each other.  Since time immemorial humankind has searched for something greater than ourselves, and has found immense inspiration through belief in a high power. But religion, a source of great peace is sometimes used to create division and strife. Not in God’s Name is a non-fiction book examining the question – “Why do people kill in the name of God?”

I began to ask this question after a life-altering event 28 years ago, when I witnessed first-hand violent acts committed by people in the name of their faith. In 1984, following the assassination of India’s Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards, I was trapped in a religious riot when a bus I was traveling on was halted by Hindus who were looking for Sikhs to murder in revenge. The country exploded in days of blood letting. India, with a population of 1.2 billion, is a microcosm of our world, and the cradle of many of the world’s great faiths. Normally these religions co-exist peacefully despite extremely close quarters. But sometimes things go terribly wrong.

Throughout South Asia I lived and studied with yogis, monks and teachers of several faith traditions; and worked in Kashmir, Pakistan, Tibet, and Afghanistan. My experience up to the time of the riot was steeped in peacefulness and acceptance. But when many of these regions transformed into hotbeds of violence, it became important to search for solutions, and write about the advice offered by many great religious leaders.

My quest for answers to the global problem of violence committed in God’s name took me on a journey to the doorsteps of the leaders of many religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism and Jainism to examine the causes for religious strife. I visited madrassas and met hard liners as well as peaceful students of Islam.

Perhaps the most famous of the leaders I met are Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama. In his interview, the Dalai Lama shares his insights into ways to break the tragic cycle of intolerance that has escalated, in some cases, to the point of nuclear confrontation. Even in the United States, where freedom of religion is a fundamental right of every citizen, differing religious views have caused deadly consequences over such matters as abortion rights, and have forced airport security to tighten. Not in God’s Name scrutinizes the role that politics, territorial disputes, the exclusive claim to truth, and the lack of economic opportunity play in perpetuating this cycle of aggression. This book is very important as the plague of religious intolerance, and the actions it triggers threaten the peaceful existence of our world.

Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: Book Excerpt, Nonfiction/Religion,

Book Tour – Perfect Combination: Seven Key Ingredients to Happily Living & Loving Together

Title: Perfect Combination: Seven Key Ingredients to Happily Living & Loving Together

Author: Jamillah & David Lamb

Publisher: Between the Lines Productions

Pages: 182

Genre: Relationships/Dating/Romance/Self-Help

David and Jamillah Lamb are the creative and dynamic couple that founded Between The Lines Productions, Inc. to fulfill their co-mission: to spread inspiration, joy, and love through the power of theater and other media. They are also co-authors of the acclaimed Perfect Combination: Seven Key Ingredients to Happily Living & Loving Together.

As they’ve taken each step of their unique journey, they’ve become a trusted source for answering the questions like: What is Love? What is Romance? What is Marriage?

They didn’t wake up one day, and ‘poof’, they were instant relationship gurus. That might be how it happens in romance novels and romance movies, but that’s not the story of their romance. Their expertise grew out of everyday living and a desire to teach each other the lessons of love, the joys and trials of marriage, and the beauty of a romance. They are dedicated to giving other couples an honest, no-holds barred look at their struggles, their hurts, their triumphs, and their love.

His Story:

David was born in Queens, NY and raised in public housing in Astoria, Queens. He attended Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and New York University School of Law. The successful playwright of the hit off-Broadway play Platanos Y Collard Greens, David has found the love of his life in Jamillah.

Despite knowing he had found the right person, David struggled to lower his guard and put aside his tendency to be suspicious of women. Before Jamillah, David would often find himself breaking up with girlfriends rather than risk being hurt by rejection. Recognizing he had found a “kind heart and sweet spirit” in Jamillah, he made the decision “to grow up and grow into feeling what love felt like.” As the relationship has deepened, he’s learned other lessons. He now smiles at his typically male (let’s be honest!) expectation that Jamillah be able to read his mind.

The ability of love and romance to conquer hurts and overcome hardships is a theme that runs through David’s books and plays. He loves being a business, marriage, and parenting partner with Jamillah.

Her Story:

Jamillah grew up in Chicago in the same neighborhood as First Lady Michelle Obama. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Wesleyan University and then a Masters degree in Public Policy from Harvard University. A former Vice-President at Citibank, Jamillah uses her education and experience in the daily operations of their business.

Just like David, Jamillah had baggage of her own to overcome. Raised in a strict environment with high expectations, she struggled to lighten up. She put men she met before David “through the ringer,” worrying that allowing someone to care for her meant being less independent. As she learned to overcome her fears and become more trusting, she came up against other challenges. Becoming a family with the birth of their daughter Kaira was not a straight path. The journey to this incredible blessing was filled with adversity and pain, but also the support of David.

Jamillah made one of her most important life decisions in 2005. At that time, Jamillah was a VP at Citibank, while also helping get David’s first play off the ground. The play had been going well for a couple of years, but it was still a big leap of faith when she made the decision to leave a comfortable corporate job to work on their business full-time. Through ups and downs, and the typical financial worries of growing a business, Jamillah has never regretted her decision. The choice has allowed them to be together day in and day out doing creative, passionate work together

For More Information

Visit the authors’ website.
Connect with the authors on Facebook and Twitter.
Find out more about the authors at Goodreads.

About the Book:

Title: Perfect Combination: Seven Key Ingredients to Happily Living & Loving Together

Author: Jamillah & David Lamb

Publisher: Between the Lines Productions

Pages: 182

Genre: Relationships/Dating/Romance/Self-Help

Jamillah and David Lamb are the dynamic couple behind the successful off-Broadway play, Platanos Y Collard Greens, which has enjoyed more than 10 years running. For years, they have worked side by side, 24/7, to create and build their business. And, not only have they not killed each other, their love has grown stronger. Now Jamillah and David share their recipe for romantic success.

This insightful relationship guidebook is part love manual and part diary as the couple explores important and intimate topics. Speaking from both of their voices–separately and collectively.

Perfect Combination: Seven Key Ingredients to Happily Living & Loving Together is not a book of relationship theory – it’s a practical guide that provides the recipe anyone, man or woman, single, engaged or married, can use for love. Jamillah & David tell their story with a sometimes painful, sometimes hilarious, honesty. It is the warm, true-to-life style combined with road-tested advice that makes this book on love and relationships so unique and so valuable.

For More Information

Perfect Combination: Seven Key Ingredients to Happily Living & Loving Together is available at Amazon.
Pick up your copy at Barnes & Noble.
Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.

Book Excerpt:

So many couples don’t want to deal with it, especially not in detail, but we all come to every relationship with a past. We walk around carrying hurts, pains and regrets in gigantic emotional duffel bags. Believe us; we do the same, just like every other couple. Just because you see us on stage smiling at each other affectionately at the end of a great show, our genuine love on display doesn’t mean that we haven’t had to unload emotional baggage to arrive at a place of Love and Happiness. So before we get into what works in our relationship and in our partnership, or deal with the places where we are still being challenged, we wanted to share with you our “Before You” talk.

We have all been in relationships before that didn’t work, and  we all have to deal with the ideas, memories, expectations and pain that keep us from Love and  Happiness.  It’s necessary because there are some important lessons you learned in those other relationships about what you don’t want and will not accept in a relationship (your deal-breakers).  But, here’s the truth that stings: even though you’re an amazing, wonderful, gifted person, you have also learned some things about yourself that didn’t always reflect you in the best light, but they were   real.

In order to be willing to move forward, in love, with love, you’ve got to deal with what you’ve learned about yourself. The lessons you learned are important and it’s essential to incorporate them into your everyday thinking so that you don’t make those same mistakes or waste time on those same conver­ sations, when you know that you already know better.

INTERVIEW:

We are a happily-married, fun loving couple with a beautiful little girl, who happen to run a theater-company together that produces plays Off-Broadway. In fact it was when our audiences discovered that we were not only married but that we worked together 24-7 without killing each other :) that they demanded to know our secrets and that’s what inspired us to write our story and share the lessons we’ve learned that can help anyone find love and happiness.

What inspires you to get out of bed each day?

A chance to spend time with the ones we love. The chance to see the world through our daughter’s eyes. Another chance to take a crack at telling a story in a fresh way that makes people laugh and inspires them.

If you could hang out with one famous person for one day, who would it be and why?

Stephen King. So we could spend time with him and learn from his routine how he is able to be such a productive writer every single day.

What’s the story behind your latest book?

Perfect Combination: Seven Key Ingredients To Happily Living & Loving Together our relationship guide that is a love manual speaking from both the male and female point of view that arms readers with insights and techniques they can use to create their own recipe for love and happiness.

Tell us your writing process?

Writing Perfect Combination: Seven Key Ingredients To Happily Living & Loving Together was a collaborative process. It was important to us to write from both the male and female point of view. Most books about relationships aren’t able to capture both perspectives, and we felt that we could add great value to the reader by writing in alternating voices between both of our perspectives. We used a voice recorder to record our initial thoughts, and then edited down the essentials and gave much back and forth commentary to each other, before giving it to our beta readers and our editor.

When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?

David has known he wanted to be a writer since he started writing short stories for his classmates in the sixth grade. For me, I realized over time that we had to write our story and share the lessons we’ve learned about how to achieve, maintain and grow love and happiness after so many of our audience members time and time again asked, or rather demanded, that we share our relationship secrets.

What are you working on next?

Publishing David’s new novel next spring, It’s Good To Be King (Until the Bell Chimes)

Do you have any special/extraordinary talents?

Relentless endurance! The great thing is, anyone can develop relentless endurance to pursue their dreams!

Who are your favorite authors?

Sue Grafton, Kimberly Lawson Roby, Michael Crichton, Dan Brown, Paul Beatty, Mark Twain.

What do you like to do with your free time?

Go to plays, concerts. Travel. When we are sufficiently motivated to take yoga together. Go on surprise dates.

Tell us about your plans for upcoming books.  

Releasing David’s new novel next spring, It’s Good To Be King (Until The Bell Chimes) a hilarious satire with a chick-lit twist, the story of a Hip Hop mogul told through both his eyes and the eyes of the one who got away—the only girl to give him the time of day back when he was the biggest nerd on campus and the first one to give him the courage to let his musical genius shine, only to watch him turn into an egotistical maniac. Now he wants to win her back by re-discovering how to be the man she originally fell in love with.

Where can people find you on the web?

www.acoupleoflambs.com

Any final thoughts?

Live in the moment. As Dale Carnegie says, “Shut tight the iron doors to regrets about yesterday and fears about tomorrow!”

Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: @authordavidlamb, Book Excerpt, Perfect Combination: Seven Key Ingredients to Happily Living & Loving Together, Pump Up Your Book, PUYB, PUYB Virtual Book Club

Release Day – Letter from Hell

About the Book

Title: Letter from Hell

Author: M. Lee Mendelson

Genre: Horror

A simple, routine call to 911 unexpectedly erupts into a grisly suicide. Mike, a well-seasoned deputy is uncharacteristically disturbed by the gruesome scene. Who was this tortured soul, and why did this happen? Innocently, most of us accept our destiny. We assume our life experiences are the result of mere chance. Few of us discover that our fate is actually an orchestrated tapestry woven from beyond our world. When that influencing weaver is from the netherworld, you may likely find yourself on a dark, terrifying, and tragic journey. What if you discovered a letter penned by a desperate soul from beyond the grave, a literal letter from hell? What if that letter could alter your perception of reality by revealing that you are not in control? Would you dare read it?

Author Bio

A first time author, M. Lee Mendelson and his wife Yvonne have six children between them, three boys and three girls. Yes–the Brady Bunch. He was inspired and encouraged by Yvonne to write his first book after he proposed the concept to her. M. Lee never dreamt of writing anything before his first book, but has now discovered he has a passion for writing, with one idea after another pouring out of him. A rare native Floridian, M. Lee recently retired from a career as a full-time firefighter and part-time law enforcement officer. His twenty-six years of experience on the streets have given him a vast array of experiences; some good, some bad. His recent retirement allows him much more freedom to dedicate to his newfound obsession with the written word. His first book, “Letter From Hell,” is a complex horror novel with a little something for everyone M. Lee’s real-life experiences, coupled with an active and vivid imagination, allow his stories to come alive. Striving to paint pictures with words, he immerses the reader into his scenes. His ambition is that people will enjoy reading his work and deem it worthy to recommend to others.

Links

Website: http://t.co/5YXLLxfh3F

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mleemendelson

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MLeeMendelson-754871841286995/timeline/

Buy the Book:

Amazon (Kindle)

Amazon (Paperback)

B&N

Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: @mleemendelson, Enchanted book promotions, Letter from Hell, M. Lee Mendelson